Tuesday, 27 October 2015

I hoped these words wouldn’t ring
true, but at the back of my mind I knew I was up against it.More than four months later and I am still
waiting.As we slip into winter, allow
me to regale you with my recent patch birding highlights from Larne.

The first debacle took place in
early June, when an evening visit to Sandy Bay produce little to raise the
excitement levels except 2 geese seen flying north offshore.Having broken the window clamp for my trusty
in-car Bushnell Spacemaster many moons ago, the scope was duly thrown onto the
roof of the jeep.A few squinted scans
added nothing to aid the identification, so I put them down as “probable
Greylags”.

Imagine my delight later that
evening when a cursory check of the nibirds blog revealed that a Bean Goose and a Pink-footed Goose (no less), were seen flying north from Portmuck
on Islandmagee shortly before my encounter.Can you see the delight etched across my face? It hurts.

Sure, I knew it was going to be a
good year when not a single Purple
Sandpiper put in an appearance at Sandy Bay for the first time since I
started birding.Yes, of course someone
else saw a couple there in May – that goes without saying.Still a chance of getting one before the end
of the year I suppose.

Highlights since June have been
few and far between but include discovering a site with breeding Meadow Pipits
and Whitethroats, a couple of Arctic
Skuas chasing kittiwakes and terns offshore on 15 August and the occasional
Little Gull.My second ever patch Ruff appeared on 4 August during a Mediterranean Gull survey, but
it wasn’t even a year tick as I had discovered my first at the same location
this spring.

Despite regular counts of over
100 small waders at Sandy Bay of late, nothing unusual has been noted amongst
them.The best being an occasional
Sanderling.So compared to last year I
am down Curlew Sandpiper, Knot and Grey Plover.

This weekend started off in
promising fashion, but by its conclusion had turned into another patch birding
debacle.An early morning visit to Glynn
Station at high tide produced some decent sightings including the first
Goldeneye of the winter, 2 Whooper Swans and a presumed returning Slavonian Grebe.I ventured a few miles inland to see a Ring-necked Duck at Lough Mourne and
was interrupted by the sound of geese flying over.At least this time I had my proper scope with
me and was able to enjoy nice views of 15 Greenland
White-fronted Geese migrating over the lough.Whilst doing so, I realised the direction they
were heading meant they had most likely flown down Larne Lough.Why couldn’t they have flown over while I was
at Glynn?

I returned to Sandy Bay on the
dropping tide to check through the waders and returned home for lunch pointless
once more.Just as I was about to head
out the door to go back to Glynn, I received a text saying a Great White Egret was at Ballycarry
Bridge, just a couple of miles off patch.So I headed straight for a look.Whilst enjoying distant scope views of the bird I heard mention that it
had originally been found at Glynn Station that morning! Resisting the urge to
gouge my eye out with the scope, I replied, “fantastic”.

Shortly afterwards a flock of
geese appeared flying about in the distance - I picked out a Pink-footed Goose
among the 30 or so Greylags.Yet another
species that would be a patch year tick if it would do the decent thing and
actually appear on patch.Having seen
enough of this bird I began scanning about to see what else was around.A juvenile Brent Goose lay stricken on the
mudflats, the result of an unfortunate collision with overhead power lines I
suspect.Just then, one of the other
birders present said something along the lines of, “I was so lucky to see that
Pink-foot at Glynn the other day”.A
blow delivered like a power line across the chops. I could only stare back in
horror.

Having informed all present of my
run of bad luck, they offered nothing but puzzled expressions in return.I bid them farewell and, ever the optimist,
headed back to Glynn Station where I fully expected to see a flock of
White-fronted Geese,a Ring-necked Duck,
a Pink-footed Goose and the Great White Egret flying into roost.Dream on.

As I looked at a manky hybrid
crow in the fading light and felt the first chill of winter on my face, I began
to wonder why I wasn’t at home watching the rugby like a normal human being.

Tuesday, 2 June 2015

It has been a while since I last
wrote an update about my patch birding exploits on either of my Larne Lough or Rathlin
patches.Fear not, I am still putting in
as much time and effort this year but seem to be caught in a bit of birding
lull at the moment with very few #patchgold moments on either patch thus far.Saying that, I have still managed a few
#fullfatpatchticks on both patches to keep me going, although none of these
were unexpected species.What follows is an update on progress to the
end of May on Rathlin Island:

I have made 7 day trips to Rathlin
so far this year starting with a mid-winter visit on 7th February.Designed to pick up some of the more unusual
visitors to the island at this time of year, I was disappointed with highlights
of Pochard (usual returning female), Moorhen and Wigeon in a day total of 49
species.In previous years Common Scoter
and Long-tailed Duck have put in an appearance on early visits, but I’m still
awaiting either to appear this year.Perhaps the most unusual sighting of the day was a single Puffin on the
sea below the East Light.

A better day was had on 16th
March when some early returning breeding species were back on patch including
Chough, Lapwing and Lesser Black-backed Gull.Bird of the day and perhaps the year so far was a Mute Swan which spent
the day drifting about the sea off Mill Bay.Unbelievably, this was my first
patch record in close to 8 years of regular visits!A female Goldeneye was at Ushet Lough and a
Water Rail was seen galloping down a ditch in Church Valley.A high count of 110 Teal scattered around the
patch was also of note.

Patch tick Mute Swan

The first Chiffchaffs (3) of the
year were singing on 5th April as I disembarked the ferry.I also managed to tick both Redwing and
Fieldfare during this visit, both of which are easily missed even if they
do occasionally appear in large numbers in autumn.Three Jackdaws at the East Light were the
first I’ve seen on the island in a couple of years.

Spring migration had reached full
swing by 18th April when the first Swallows, Sand Martins, Willow
Warblers, Blackcaps and Wheatears (17) had returned.Also making a return to the island after their
winter absence were numerous finches including Lesser Redpoll, Linnet and
Twite.It was nice to hear one of the
latter singing from what appears to be a regular song post in Church Bay.This time of year is particular good for
Willow Warbler passage through the island, so a day count of 45+ was fairly
typical.Also of note were 7 White
Wagtails and two pairs of Peregrines settling down to breed.

Early Purple orchids

Ushet Port

I had a great day on 4th
May when no less than 13 year ticks were recorded in a whopping day total of 72
species! These included a reeling Grasshopper Warbler in Church Valley, where 3
Whitethroats and several Sedge Warblers were also new in.Next up was a Cuckoo along the track to the
Coastguards Station, giving great views until I fumbled in my bag for my camera!This was the 150th species I have
recorded on Rathlin and very pleasing it was to.While scanning the sea from Coastguards, the
sky appeared to turn black as if under a cloud.This turned out to be due to a flock of 56 Hooded Crows, wheeling about
the skies between here and the East Light – migrants no doubt but from where?
As I walked towards the East Light I thought to myself there’s got to be a good
chance of a Carrion Crow being mixed in with that lot and sure enough a couple
of scans later one was picked out.This
is a species I have always thought should be regular on Rathlin given their distribution
along the East Antrim Coast, yet this goes down as my 151st Rathlin
tick!Another good bird for Rathlin was a
1st summer Mediterranean Gull in Mill Bay, just my third patch
record following a couple last autumn.Here’s a summary of species seen on the day and the numbers involved:

My next visit on the 17th
May was disappointing with a general feeling of there being not a lot around.Even numbers of common migrants were very
low, just 18 Willow Warblers for example.The day was saved late afternoon at Ushet Lough.The Common Gulls suddenly lifted and
apparently didn’t know what to do with themselves as a stunning pale adult
Arctic Skua flew low across the lough.The skua did a few circuits of the lough before circling and gaining in
height before cruising about at high altitude above the cliffs for a few
minutes before vanishing into the distance. Magic.

My final visit of the review
period was last Saturday, the 30th May.I flushed what was presumably the same Cuckoo
close to the place I had seen one on 4th May.Lots of Redpolls were flying over and at least one in the “Lesser Whitethroat” thicket was a Mealy Redpoll.Also new for the year was a Rock Dove near
the East Light.Given the lack of regular
sightings over the years, I think this species may be tittering on the brink of
extinction on this part of the island at least.Talking of breeding birds, at least 3 pairs of Lapwing were guarding
chicks on the patch and I stumbled upon an Oystercatcher nest where I normally
sit for a seawatch and a cuppa!Elsewhere,
counts of 15 Sedge Warblers and 12 Whitethroats were fairly typical for the
time of year.Also of note was a feeding
flock of several hundred Manx Shearwaters between Rathlin and the Mull of Kintyre.A group of 15 Harbour Porpoise were seen below
the Coastguard Station.

﻿﻿﻿

Spot the Oystercatcher nest

So as the title of the post
suggests, this has been a fairly quiet spring on Rathlin, but there’s plenty of
time for things to improve.Perhaps I
should set up a new patch at the West end of the island next year - Red Kite,
Ring Ouzel and 2 Orcas so far this year!

Scores at the end of May are 94
species (3 down on last year), 111 points and a comparative score of 74.2%

423 records and 7 lists have been
submitted to Birdtrack.

I intend doing a similar roundup for
Larne Lough soon, so watch this space… In the meantime try singing this merry tune next time you're out birding.

Sunday, 5 April 2015

After a delayed start to the
patch birding New Year, I eventually made it down to the Kilcoole area on 11th
January for my first full day and was greeted instantly by a #patchgoldDipper along the Newcastle Sea Road
stream, the first I’ve seen here in about 10 years!! This single bird later
became part of a pair which moved extensively up and down the stream during February
but with no sign of them since I guess they have found a quieter spot upstream to
breed.

Dipper

The other highlight of the year
so far in this area was the continued presence of Tree Sparrowsaround a farmyard along the sea road. A single bird was first
found here in March 2014 by Stephen McAvoy during the Wicklow County Bird Race which
was duly twitched soon after by myself as it was a most sought after patch
tick. Delighted to report that the Tree Sprog numbers at this site have risen
to a mighty 15 this year! Will keep an eye on them this Spring and hopefully
confirm breeding.

Tree Sparrow

Not stopping there, the farmland around
Newcastle Sea Road was very productive this winter for other passerines adding
a single Fieldfare
and some Redwing on day one, both
good to get that soon on the scoresheet as they are highly unpredictable here.
I later ended up with a flock of 20 Fieldfare and 12 Redwing in the field just
inland of East Coast Nature Reserve (ECNR) in March. The stubble field beside the
entrance to Newcastle Airfield held a consistent flock of 60 Reed Buntings, 15 Yellowhammers, 40 Linnets,
15 Greenfinches and 30 Meadow Pipits throughout the winter
thanks to the planting and overwintering of game cover/crop. An impressive
flock of c.70 Stock Doves was present in stubble fields at Kilcoole on 6th February and it was
encouraging to see pairs present in suitable habitat on the patch later on in
the Spring also.

Both Lesser Redpoll and Siskin
have been thin on the ground along the east coast this winter and I’ve only had two
records of each from the patch (normally good numbers at ECNR). I once
considered Grey Wagtail a scarce
bird down here but have already amassed 10 records so far this year with a
regular bird on the wet mud/cattle dung pools near the entrance to ECNR. A male
Blackcap present on the feeders at
ECNR in late January was possibly the first ‘proper’ winter record I’ve had on
the patch. No sign of any Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the wood at ECNR during
my searches there (only Treecreeper
to add to the list) despite two sightings so far this year by other observers
but I was intrigued by the presence of a hybrid
Carrion x Hooded Crow near the usual Hoodie nest site there in mid-March.
Might have to keep an eye on that and see what shenanigans are going on locally
(and more importantly see if there are any pure Carrions to year tick!). The
first Skylarks in song were recorded
along the dunes at Kilcoole on 8th February during the Wicklow
County Bird Race.

Very pleased to see two soaring Red Kitesoff in the distance to the south of ECNR during a BirdWatchIreland Wicklow Branch outing there on 24th January (only patch
ticked them back in September 2014). The overwintering 2nd calendar-year
female Marsh
Harrierwas seen twice in January and
once in February. The first successful overwintering bird at this site to the
best of my knowledge (have had records of them into November before but not
thereafter). A single ringtail Hen
Harrier showed well in front of the main hide at ECNR on 6th
February, presumably the same bird most often reported down towards Broad Lough
during the winter. Displaying Sparrowhawks
were present at their traditional breeding site through March and it was a case
of Buzzards aplenty with the highest
single count relating to nine soaring over farmland and hills inland of the
patch on 21st March. No more than one Kestrel was seen on the patch in a given day, continuing their drop
in numbers here since the severe run of winter storms in January 2014. An adult
and a 2nd calendar-year Peregrine
were keeping the waders and wildfowl of the marsh on their toes through February
and March.

Seawatching was pretty quiet but
recording Gannet, Fulmar, Kittiwake and Black Guillemot from the get go in
January was good, especially for Black Guillemots as it took me until April to
find them last year! The undoubted highlight was a Great Skua (Bonxie)flying north out to sea from Kilcoole train station
platform on 11th January. It was quite distant but actively chasing
Kittiwakes. My first winter record on the patch. Numbers of Red-throated Divers, Shags and auks sitting/feeding offshore
have been below average, but a southbound movement of 1,250 Guillemots in three hours on 28th January was notable. A
Great Northern Diver offshore from
Newcastle on 16th March was most welcome as I thought I was going to
go the first winter half of the year without seeing one.

Flood levels on the marsh were
pretty low through much of the winter resulting in reduced numbers of certain
species like Teal, Lapwing, Golden Plover and Black-tailed
Godwits. The Light-bellied Brent
Goose flock, which peaks in March, was only half its normal size also, but
I still managed to get a Dark-bellied Brent Gooseout
of them, just about keeping up its annual status here. The presence of leftover
potatoes in the field inland of Webb’s lagoon provided rich feeding for the Icelandic Greylag Geese and Whooper Swans throughout the winter
which was fantastic to see. A real benefit to them with such a rich source of
food along with grazing, fresh water and roost sites all in close proximity
(highlighted by the fact that the Whooper flock rose to 89, the highest here in
years). Both the Barnacle Gooseand feral Canada Goose from 2014 stayed on through
the New Year and onto the 2015 list as well as several Greenshank, a Tufted Duck,
a Coot and a female Pintail.
The Shoveler flock on the wet
grassland flashes at ECNR reached an all-time high of 81 (hopefully it won’t be
long before a nice male Blue-winged Teal joins them!). A couple of trips down
to look for birds grounded in Webb’s lagoon during heavy rain and strong winds
paid dividends in the form of a 2nd calendar-year male Red-breasted
Merganser, a 3rd calendar-year Little Gull and a single Grey Plover.

As was the case across much of
Ireland, migrants were slow to get going in March with my first at Kilcoole relating
to Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving
north along the coast (peak count of 99 on 16th March) followed up
by two Chiffchaffs in the wood at
ECNR. Finished off the month of March with an enjoyable joint BirdWatch Ireland
Wicklow and Dublin Tolka Branch outing to Kilcoole on Saturday 21st where
we scored our target Spring migrants in the form of a Sandwich Tern day roosting in Webb’s field (species #100) alongside
a 3rd calendar-year Mediterranean
Gull and a female Wheatear on
the beach. A great end to the first quarter of the year!

Table 1. Summary counts of waterbirds at Kilcoole, Newcastle and
Blackditch East Coast Nature Reserve, September 2014 - March 2015. Notes:
Species in italics have yet to be
recorded during PWC2015. Some I-WeBS
counts from other observers likely to be higher than my own for certain species
(e.g. Golden Plover) so figures given here don’t represent actual maximum
totals for the site. Totals for regularly occurring gull species (BH, CM, HG and GB) relate
to birds on the marsh only and don’t include those on passage/offshore.